


Careful Now

by DragonDetective



Category: Moominvalley (Cartoon 2019), Mumintroll | Moomins Series - Tove Jansson, 楽しいムーミン一家 | Moomin (Anime 1990)
Genre: M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, i just realized my other tags didnt get added, snufkin is hurt... moomin is here to heal him lol, thats what i get for starting this fic on data
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-15
Updated: 2019-07-31
Packaged: 2020-05-12 14:43:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 12,307
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19231207
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DragonDetective/pseuds/DragonDetective
Summary: Snufkin finds his way to Moominvalley and ends up sticking around a while, but for a rather unfortunate reason.





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Snufkin learns to watch his step.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! I’m out of town right now so this may not be getting consistent updates, I’m writing it when I have free time between doctors appointments and in the car during drives.
> 
> Anyways my lovely friend Jir gave me the prompt for this, and while I intended for it to be a one off, I couldnt get get as far as I wanted! Too much to say I suppose. Hope you enjoy!!

The valley was quiet, the sun only just beginning to rise and dew having only recently settled. Snufkin crawled out of his tent, taking in the morning air. He’d only just arrived that evening and hadn’t gotten an opportunity to properly explore just yet. It seemed promising though; everything looked to be bursting with life from the grass to the clouds, not to mention everything big and small in between.

The Mymrik took a deep breath and stretched himself out before properly getting dressed and packing up his things because while where he chose to stay was quite nice, he figured in a place like this he was likely to find better.

 

Moominmamma has asked Moomintroll to go out and pick berries for her, and he was quite eager to do so. He rushed out into the forest, basket in hand, excited for the berry jam that was sure to come from this venture.

The shade from the trees cooled his white fur, and Moomin went about picking the berries he thought looked best, stealing the occasional few for himself. Not that it mattered, as there would be plenty of berry bushes left untouched.

 

Snufkin wandered through the valley, observing the different plants and animals. Many were similar to those outside the valley sure, but it was nice to take note anyway, even if they might not be new. To know what he’d be able to find to eat and where was important, it wouldn’t be right to bother going hungry in such a giving place. 

The valley not only had a good variety of food but of different sceneries and smells and sounds. It was hard to find something that wasn’t beautiful around every corner, everything quite wonderful in its own special way.

Snufkin gave a soft sigh and looked up past the leaves and to the sky, folding his arms behind his head as he walked. He wondered how long it would take him to explore the valley and what all he would find, what else it might have to off-

There was a sudden pressure around his calf.

Snufkin froze. He was scared to look down and see what had happened. The feeling was none too pleasant, but that’s all it was. Not cold, warm, sharp, or dull. Plant, animal, or object, he couldn’t tell at all. That was the truly scary part, that he couldn’t tell what it was. It was just pressure.

Pressure that held onto him tight, and wouldn’t let go.

Snufkin took a deep breath and hesitantly looked to his leg. There was a bear trap, it’s sharp teeth holding Snufkin in its grasp. His chest felt tight, and suddenly he was dizzy. He couldn’t breathe, tears begin to build in his eyes. How- what was he to do?!

He bit his lip and looked away, now that he’d seen it his body demanded he fix it, the metal jaws’ grasp unrelenting and absolutely crushing, and he now knew precisely what it felt like. He much preferred being unaware.

The boy quickly lowered onto the ground and did all he could manage to ignore the pain, throwing off his bag so he could look around for someone, and so he didn’t have to worry about it straining on him... Tears streamed down his face as he became frantic and panic took over, trying desperately to pry open the shining silver teeth with his hands. It hurt, but not only that, it didn’t work at all.

 

Moomintroll had filled his basket and stained his fur. He took one last handful from the bush before moving to a small stream nearby to try to wash all the juice off of his fur as he could manage. It would need a good scrub when he got home, but at least he wasn’t so purple and red now.

He began on his way back to Moominhouse when he heard a cry for help and immediately changed course. The voice wasn’t familiar, which intrigued Moomintroll, but he supposed this wasn’t the time to wonder who they were if they needed assistance.

Moomin heard them call again, and once more before he was finally able to locate them.

Then he dropped his basket of berries and ran back into the woods. 

Snufkin had been calling out for anyone to come find and help him- and apparently, someone had heard. They were white, kind of large- but he couldn’t tell much more than that, his vision too cloudy from his tears. They left in a hurry- and he sobbed out again. Maybe they would be able to help. He hoped they would. He hoped they would. He couldn’t stand this anymore.

Moomintroll came back as fast as he could, a sturdy stick in hand now instead of a basket. He sat himself across from the Mumrik. “Stop- m-move your hands, I can get you out of here,” he said, gently tapping the other’s arm in case they were too focused on the trap to hear him.

Snufkin took his hands away from the trap and watched the white- thing. He wiped at his eyes and focused on what he was doing, wedging the stick into the trap and trying to pry it open himself. He found it much easier than Snufkin had, and soon enough had him free. 

Moomintroll ensured that nothing else would get caught in the trap before letting it close again, the snap as it shut against itself near gave Snufkin a heart attack. Moomintroll carefully picked it up and put it in his basket, standing it upright and against a tree. He would have to come back for it.

“Let’s get you taken care of, okay?” He said, rising to his feet and carefully picking up the other. 

Snufkin practically melted in his warm soft arms, perhaps he’d had too much adventure for today... He didn’t know anything about the white stranger but he trusted them and gave them a small nod. His adrenaline was passing and left him drained, what other choice was he left with?


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Snufkin meets the Moomin family.

Moomintroll ran as fast as he could back home. He did his best to ensure- whoever this was- was as comfortable in his arms as he could make them without sacrificing speed, and figured when things had settled down he really ought to introduce himself... 

Once the pair broke out of the forest the little troll began yelling for his parents, as this really was quite the urgent matter. The green-clad mumrik wouldn’t die without immediate attention, but that was no reason to ignore their predicament. Moominmamma came out of the house, and shortly after Moominpappa did too, watching their son run across the bridge with a stranger in his arms.

“They got caught in a bear trap!” Moomintroll called, to which Moominmamma quickly ducked right back into the house and Moominpappa to open the door for the pair. This was not something the family planned to ignore.

 

Snufkin was set on the couch, the stranger sitting beside him and watching over him, their tail tucked and the end flicking anxiously. Snufkin wasn’t sure if he’d seen this creature before- Snorks sure, but these were white…

“Mamma!”

“Yes, dear, I found it.”

“Thank goodness…”

Their mother, Snufkin had gathered, carried both a stool and a first aid kit into the living room, sitting before him. “I’m Moominmamma, I’m going to take care of you, okay dear?”

Snufkin nodded, taking a sharp breath as she carefully brought up his leg to lay over her own and inspect more closely. His boots had already been removed, and the pant leg by the injury rolled up. Snufkin watched her inspect the wound, hissing and clenching his eyes and teeth shut when moved or touched. She cleaned the cuts it left, which there were quite a few, and carefully took his hands to do the same there from when he tried to pry it open. His hands- Snufkin couldn’t even think to bother with his hands- He’d forgotten about them entirely until Moominmamma had taken them in her own only to make them sting.

She whispered something to her child before she began dressing his hands in bandages, then some ointment for his leg before covering it too. His savior returned with a board under their arm, handing it over to Moominmamma.

“Are you sure, Mamma?...”

“Even if I’m wrong, it’s much better to be safe than sorry about these sorts of things, and I don’t intend to torture the poor thing by asking them to stand so soon after all of that. Could you please go help your father get the guest bed ready?”

They nodded and walked to the staircase just behind Moominmamma, giving Snufkin a look of deep concern.

“Moomintroll,”

“Hm?”

“Go on now,” She instructed again and- Moomintroll, was quick up the stairs. Snufkin gave a sigh and leaned back on the couch, closing his eyes and trying not to think.

“Are you alright dear?” She asked, positioning the board against his leg and beginning to wrap it to him.

“Y-yes ma’am, just-” Snufkin focused hard on breathing deep and not moving, this wasn’t pleasant at all.

“It’s quite painful, I imagine. I’m glad my son found you, I’d hate to think what would happen were you left alone out there. I’m not quite sure if you have a place to stay, but I believe at least until tomorrow it’d be best for you to stay here. I don’t want anything to hurt you any more than you already are... Is that alright?”

Snufkin nodded, and Moominmamma nodded. She finished wrapping his leg and gently laid it on the couch. “My son, Moomintroll, will be down soon to carry you up to the guest bedroom. Please try to rest, okay?” 

Snufkin nodded, he didn’t like the idea of having to stay here, somewhere he was only so new to. He regretted everything that led him here, but at least this family seemed nice… Hopefully, it wasn’t anything serious, he wouldn’t be here long, he would be fine in no ti- “a-Ah!” Snufkin gasped out as he was suddenly lifted off the couch.

Moomintroll frowned, “Oh, I’m sorry! I didn’t- think you were..” He cleared his throat and shook his head. “I thought you were asleep, I’m sorry... Are you okay?”

Snufkin hadn’t any idea how he’d thought he was asleep but ignored it. “Y-yes, I’m fine, it’s.. It’s okay.”

“Okay… I’ll take you to your room now..” Moomintroll carefully held him close and began upstairs, Snufkin holding tight to him. When they got to the hallway Moomintroll looked down at him, only to get a small nod of confirmation- yes, yes I’m fine, it’s fine. He was carried to presumably the guest room and carefully laid down on the bed. “Mamma said you should rest, and I agree... You were really tired on the way here and I can’t imagine you’re any more rested after all of that...”

Snufkin sighed, maybe he could try, but he didn’t see how he could. “I’ll do my best.”

“Good, good... Um, before you do, what’s your name?...”

“Snufkin.”

Moomintroll whispered the name to himself for a moment before nodding, “Got it. It’s-... I’m glad you’re here, Snufkin, and not-”

“Me too… Thank you. I’m sorry if I’ve been impolite, I don’t- feel, at my best.”

Moomintroll nods, “I understand, but you haven’t done anything of the sort, not that I’ve noticed at least… I’ll leave you to rest now, but… Um... Don’t hesitate to ask for anything, okay?”

Snufkin nodded and closed his eyes, trying to relax as best he could. He heard the other give a sigh before hearing the door open and close, and thought as hard as he could on anything but the pain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It’s midnight. This is fun.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Moomintroll grows fond.

Moomintroll worried about Snufkin quite a bit despite knowing next to nothing about him. When Mamma was making ointments or meals for him he always watched, and when his wounds were redressed he near asked if he could try every time, but thought against it as he wasn’t sure what to do.

He always brought up breakfast and dinner, Mamma bringing lunch. Every morning Moomintroll came into the bedroom with a tray of food to find Snufkin sitting on the edge of the bed cleaning his harmonica. Moomintroll would ask if he needed anything, and every morning Snufkin requested help moving to a chair by the window. Moomintroll of course was happy to help, and would open the window for him, saying that it was such a nice day and it was rather unfortunate Snufkin was stuck inside. He’d agree, and the room would go quiet.

It was always quiet when Moomin was inside with him. Moomin never knew what to say, but always asked if he wanted him to stay. Snufkin always preferred to stay alone. It saddened Moomintroll, but never truly bothered him. At least that’s what he’d tell himself. Others were just different.

But every day, he would finish his own breakfast downstairs and soon hear a tune. Snufkin played his harmonica, and it was one of the prettiest things Moomin had ever heard. He could listen forever, and oftentimes did. He would sit outside and listen, eyes shut and taking in the sun and the song. Sometimes he would listen from his bedroom, opening his window too to hear it better. Other times he even sat outside his room, completely and entirely lost in thought wishing dearly he knew what he could say in order to get to know him... He’d do anything to get to know him.

At lunch every day Mamma would send Moomin away while she gave Snufkin lunch and they discussed his injury. Moomin wanted to stay and watch, learn, maybe even talk to Snufkin... but Mamma had said the smaller the audience the better, so he obeyed and went out.

He ate lunch with Pappa and they talked about their company. Pappa never tried to get Moomin to talk about something else, mostly because he knew Moomin would hold no interest in anything else. He was just so worried he’d say, and was scared Snufkin might be sad or lonely in the room all day. Moominpappa would nod and ask him why he didn’t ask how Snufkin felt about it, and suddenly Moomin’s meal was much more interesting than anything else. 

At dinner Moomin always found that once he opened the door a song stopped. He set the tray of food down beside Snufkin and would watch out the window with him for a moment before asking if he wanted any company. As usual, it was a no. And so Moomintroll would leave, and once out in the hall would let out a heavy sigh. He wanted to know him so bad he would do anything, but what exactly he should do was a mystery to him.

At dinner there was always a pit in his stomach. He had no interest in Mamma and Pappa’s conversations until the focus was Snufkin’s state, to which he listened close but added to rarely. The pit in his stomach stayed until it was time for bed, when Snufkin asked to be moved back to his bed. Mamma had said not to let him walk yet. It wasn’t time.

The pit always resolved when Moomin lifted the Mumrik in his arms and moved him across the room, gently laying him down and helping him with the blankets.

“I hope you sleep well,” is what Moomintroll always said.

Snufkin always gave a nod, “I’ll try.”

When Moomintroll closed the door behind him the pit was left behind and had broken out to butterflies deep in his chest, and they wouldn’t leave until morning. He laid awake in bed, staring at the ceiling and trying so hard to focus on sleep, but his mind was consumed with the boy...

He wanted so badly to get to know Snufkin, he could do anything.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Snufkin follows suit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> almost twice as long as a normal chapter, but to be fair the last one was half as short.....enjoy!

Snufkin had been stuck here for a week. He tried his best to ignore how miserable it made him, to have to be inside with only the same view of the same valley, the same window in the same room. It was a nice room, with a good view of a beautiful valley. It was the fact that he couldn’t see it for himself that was frustrating. That he had to sit and wait for a recovery... Stare out a window and hope something would change, anything! It was torture.

The Moomin family’s visits were welcomed, a break in the monotony of his current situation. In the morning, Moomintroll would carry him to a chair, then open the window and see if Snufkin wanted him to stay. He always declined the company, he didn’t want to pester the family with his presence. As kind as they were, he didn’t want to push it. He took up plenty of their time already, and didn’t need to take up much more of it. Not to mention the fact that he didn’t know the troll at all, and wasn’t the biggest fan of having constant company.

Midway into the morning Moominmamma would come upstairs with her son to redress his wounds. It wasn’t nice, but he was getting better, the pain lessening as the days went by, or maybe he was just getting used to it. 

At lunch it was just him and Mamma, and she would sit and talk with him, asking how he felt, making sure things were healing correctly, things of the like. Once she’d wanted to stand him up and try to put weight on the wound. When he did, he’d near collapsed, yelping and feeling the tightness in his chest return from when it was first inflicted. She caught him, carefully set him in the chair, and calmed him back down. She’d just wanted to know if her assumptions about the wound were right, and… They were. He’d be stuck much longer than either of them would have liked, and obviously felt bad for it. The pain stuck with him for the rest of the day after that, not only from standing, and he ended up rather cross as a result.

A few hours later the mother son duo returned again, checking his hands now. They were only scraped up, not cut near as deep. The bandages were off after two days, and ointment was applied to the scabs to help them finish healing.

Moomintroll brought up Snufkin’s dinner a little before sunset. He’d be quiet at first, then ask if Snufkin wanted company. As usual, it was declined, and the troll went on his way. 

Once the sky had gone dark and the valley quiet, Moomintroll returned yet again. He would carefully lift Snufkin into his soft furry arms and carry him to bed, laying him down ever so gently and arranging the blankets so he wouldn’t have to move about and adjust them himself. He always said he hoped he slept well, and Snufkin promised he would try, but in truth he knew he’d lie awake for what felt like hours and feel the deep deep desire to get up and run off, but knew better. He couldn’t even stand… He was here for a reason. 

Snufkin filled the days with song, it was really the only thing he could do. Nothing changed, except maybe the clouds. His harmonica was his only comfort here. He always stopped when someone came to see him, thinking it rude to drown out whatever they might have to say. He enjoyed the meals he was given quite a bit, but missed his own cooking, foraging for whatever he needed. Certainly these might be better, but the distress in being stranded took the enjoyment out of everything that happened. He was positively miserable.

 

Snufkin had been stuck for a week. Every day seemed to blend with the one just before it and the one ahead, and he thought he might go crazy until the sudden crack of thunder woke him in the morning.

Finally, something new. Something to distinguish the days by. Or, at the very least, this day.

He soon heard footsteps in the hall and saw a moving light. It must have woken the Moomins, too. He sat up in bed and knocked on his bed frame when the light passed to let whoever was up know he was up too. They paused and opened the door, and Snufkin was greeted with the kind face of Moominmamma.

“Good morning, dear. The storm woke you too, did it?”

Snufkin nodded, stretching out his leg (being very careful about which one), alongside his arms. “Yes, ma’am.”

“I apologize for that… Do you need anything?”

“... I would like to see the rain, if that’s alright.”

Moominmamma nodded and carefully lifted the boy into her arms. She carries him to his chair by the window and sets him down, pulling a chair to sit across from him and stare out the window as well.

“Would you like some coffee, dear?”

 

Moominmamma had left to make breakfast for the whole house, but stayed with Snufkin to watch the rain with their coffee. He enjoyed it, the comfortable silence between them, and the coffee. It wasn’t much, but it was something different, to have coffee that early, and to be up that early in general. At least, while he was here.

When it was time for breakfast Moomintroll brought it up as usual, “Good morning, Snufkin,” he greeted with a smile, setting the tray down. “Would you like any company while you eat?” He asked, not bothering with the window. The rain hadn’t let up at all.

“... Sure,” Snufkin said, carefully looking over to the young Moomin. His ears were high, his tail was wagging, face shocked. Snufkin smiled a bit and went back to staring out the window. At least his request didn’t seem to bother the troll.

 

Moomintroll had quickly brought his breakfast up to join Snufkin, eager to get to know him and talk. He was so glad he finally accepted… he just wondered why.

“So! Uh- Snufkin, why did you change your mind today?..”

“Hm?”

“You never want any company, I was- I was just curious why you let me stay today,” Moomintroll explained, carefully picking at his food.

Oh, he’d been wanting to stay. Snufkin gave a small frown, “Oh, I just… The rain makes it hard for me to play, and the window can’t be open or else I’ll get soaked. That leaves me with nothing to do, and I thought since you might be stuck inside with the storm too, it wouldn’t be of much inconvenience to ask you to stay.”

Moomintroll nodded, “I see… What other sorts of things do you like?”

“Exploring. I travel quite a bit, never staying in one place long. My freedom means a lot to me,” Snufkin explained, staring out the window.

“I don’t imagine being so hurt is making you feel very well… I mean- of course, other than physically- I-“ Moomintroll laughed nervously and sighed, “Sorry..”

Snufkin shook his head, “Not a problem, but yes I’m quite… Restless, and can’t do a thing about it.”

“..Maybe when the rain stops I can take you out onto the veranda. You’d be outside, not exploring, but…”

“It wouldn’t be an issue for you?”

Moomintroll shook his head, “Of course not. Anything to make you comfortable and feel better. When Mamma says you can walk again maybe I could go around the forest with you and show you around… Um- keep you out of anymore traps,” he said with a laugh.

Snufkin nodded, “That would mean a lot to me… Thank you.” He smiled at Moomintroll, and Moomin’s evening butterflies came much earlier than expected.

“You’re welcome.”

 

The storm didn’t let up until dinner, but the boys didn’t notice for a while. They were too caught up in conversation and stories, occasionally pausing to listen to the rain pound against the house. 

Moomintroll hung onto every word Snufkin said, tail flicking behind him and the butterflies refusing to leave no matter what he did. He was so glad Snufkin had let him stay today.

As Snufkin finished his current story, he sighed and sat back in his chair, slowly closing his eyes. He listened for the rain and was met with silence, which he took in with gratitude before realizing what it meant.

“The rain!” Snufkin quickly turned to Moomintroll with a large smile on his face. “It stopped!”

Moomintroll nodded and smiled back, “Okay- hold on, I-“ he rushed to his side and carefully scooped him up, holding him close. “Alright. Are you good? We’re going downstairs so I just want to be sure-“

“Fine, just fine. Perfect.”

“Okay- okay,” Moomintroll heads down with the other in his arms, happy to see the other so excited. He sets him down in a chair by the railing, turning it so he can look out. “How’s that?”

Snufkin holds the railing and stares out over the valley, a closer view of the scenery he’d been restricted to but a change in it all at least! The air was so much cooler and everything was still dripping. He didn’t think he’d been this excited by rain in ages.

Moomintroll watched him with a small giggle, glad his new friend was enjoying himself so much. He pulled up a chair beside him. “It’s good to see you so happy,”

“It’s good to be outside again…”

 

Moominmamma brought their dinners out to them and they both ate in relative quiet, listening to the rain slowly drip off the roof. Snufkin stared out over the world, and Moomin stared at him. He only stopped when Snufkin caught on, quickly turning his gaze out to the forest.

Snufkin was better able to appreciate the meal Moominmamma had provided now that he wasn’t completely tucked indoors. It was quite nice, and kept him full. When Moominmamma called the boys back inside for bed, Snufkin let out a sigh and turned to Moomintroll, who was already fixing the chairs back in place.

“If it’s nice out tomorrow I’ll bring you out again,” Moomintroll promised. Snufkin nodded and as he was lifted up allowed himself to enjoy that too, the warmth of Moomin’s soft white body compared to the gentle chill of recent rain. He closed his eyes and relaxed while Moomintroll brought him upstairs and helped him into bed.

“I hope you sleep well,” Moomintroll said, as always.

“You too.” Yet again, Snufkin had changed the script. He felt like he’d get his first good sleep since he’d been injured, and Moomintroll hadn’t a clue what to do with the sudden fire in his chest.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Moomintroll learns to listen better.

The next morning Moomintroll woke up to the sun streaming in through his window. He rolled over onto his back and stared up at the ceiling, still thinking about the day before. _Snufkin is so cool… Hopefully we’ll get to spend time together again today._

Moomintroll rolled out of bed and headed down to Snufkin’s room, carefully poking his head inside. Usually he didn’t check on Snufkin so early, but hopefully he wouldn’t mind-

“Moomintroll, good morning,” Snufkin greeted with a small yawn, sitting up on the edge of the bed as usual but not nearly as awake. He stretched out his back with his arms above his head, giving a sigh once he’d gotten as far as he was able and putting his arms back down.

“Good morning, Snufkin. Sorry for coming in so early, I just wanted to see if you’d like to eat downstairs in a little while with us maybe.”

Snufkin thought about it, gently resting his head in his hand. After a moment he frowned, “No, actually. Thank you though, Moomintroll.”

“Why? Not that- it’s a problem or anything… I just- thought you’d be lonely and- I feel bad not asking you sooner n-”

“Moominmamma usually asks me when she gets up, and I rather enjoy some time alone in the mornings is all.”

“Oh… Okay, then. Maybe after breakfast I can take you down to the veranda?”

“I’d love that, thank you.”

 

Moomintroll sat on the steps of the veranda, leaning against the railing as he listened to Snufkin play his harmonica. His tail swished and his feet kicked gently to the tune, oh so happy to hear it up close than through walls.

“Moomintroll!” A voice called, and Snufkin stopped playing. Moomintroll looked up toward the voice to find Snorkmaiden rushing over the bridge. “Oh, Moomintroll! Where have you been?”

“What do you mean, Snorkmaiden?” He asked, getting up to meet her. 

“Well we hadn’t seen you all week! Sniff was starting to get worried, My said we shouldn’t bother, but I thought well certainly something had to have happened if he’s gone a week without a word! Is everything alright?” She asked, suddenly inspecting him all over, turning around him and gently lifting his arms to look beneath them. 

Moomintroll laughed, “No, no! Nothing’s wrong, I’m perfectly fine- I just got a little distracted, is all. I didn’t mean to worry you guys,” he explained. “Here- um, what happened is, Snufkin-”

“Snufkin?!” Snorkmaiden looked over to the veranda where Moomintroll was just trying to gesture, “Oh, Snufkin!” she cried, rushing to his side, fur now a shade of purple. “What happened to you, clearly you’re the one I should be inspecting! Oh, you poor thing!” She pulled a chair up beside him. “You absolutely must tell me what happened.”

Snufkin gave a small smile and shook his head, “It’s not too interesting a story, I only stepped in a bear trap because I got lost in the clouds. Moomintroll saved me, and now the Moomins are letting me stay until I’m better enough to be on my own.”

Snorkmaiden pouted, “Oh you must feel awful, tucked away like this…”

“It’s not something I’m happy about, but it beats being stuck in the forest alone and injured.”

“Wait wait wait-” Moomintroll interrupted. “You know each other?”

“Well of course, silly!” Snorkmaiden said, standing up to lean over the rail towards Moomin, fur now a lovely golden yellow. “I thought I’d told you all about my adventures with Snork before we came to Moominvalley! Not that they were too adventurous, I don’t think, but certainly fun enough.”

“I mean, I knew you weren’t always living here, but I hadn’t any idea you’d met Snufkin… Surely he’d have stuck out to me, being as how wonderful he is.”

Snorkmaiden gave him an odd look, before glancing to Snufkin and laughing. “Well, I don’t imagine you were paying much attention then, I could have sworn I talked about him! We only met the one time though, maybe you didn’t remember because of that? Moominpappa has so many adventures with the same people every single time, it’s a wonder how you don’t get bored listening!”

“So- um.. How did you two meet, then?” Moomintroll asked, sitting in the grass beneath them. 

“Well, Snufkin might be able to tell the story better than I, it is after all his own, and you can hear it later. I wanted to go to the beach with you today! Sniff is already there and I’ve no doubt Little My is trying to dig up a sandlion as we speak,” Snorkmaiden says, coming down beside Moomintroll to offer him a hand. “I promised I’d return with news of you, from my mouth or your own! Since you’ve got Snufkin staying with you surely you can ask him about his stories later, but I haven’t seen you all week, Moomin!”

“I… Will you be okay if I go, Snufkin?” Moomintroll asked, turning to face his new friend. 

Snufkin nodded, “Yes, I’ll be quite alright. Go enjoy your friends. I didn’t realize you were neglecting them just for me,” he said with a grin. “I’ll be here when you get back.”

Moomintroll felt his chest tighten and his face warm up, oh that face… He looked back to Snorkmaiden, “Well as long as Snufkin’s not upset by it I don’t see why I would say no. Let me go ask Mamma.”

“Okay, Moomintroll,” Snorkmaiden said, and as he went inside she rolled her eyes and shook her head. This was going to be a _long_ walk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello everyone! im having some pre-operation appointments tomorrow so i may not update, and the day after that is my surgery! please... don't anticipate any updates thursday or friday lol. if i can do it i might, but like... probably wont be able to. sorry! and yknow what im also sorry i missed yesterday, i updated "It Could've Been Me" instead since it was being neglected. anywho i hope u liked it!


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Moomintroll is harassed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi! sorry this is so late, but i'm home now! i got discharged from the hospital p quickly and im like, actually home now and not out of town anymore, lol. everything went really well and im in recovery mode but im fine so! ya!
> 
> anyway hope u enjoy!

“So, you’ve really met Snufkin before?”

“I thought I went over this already! Yes, Moomintroll, and you can ask Snork about it too! But just- yes. Yes I’ve met Snufkin but didn’t get to spend much time with him. You’re much too interested in him, I haven’t seen you in a week but you’ve been with him the whole time! You can stop thinking about him for just a second, can’t you?” Snorkmaiden asked with a small laugh.

Moomintroll nodded, “Of course I can! I just-.. I really thought I would have remembered a story about someone like him…”

“Oh, you’re hopeless!”

“What do you mean?”

“No- no. I’m not telling you, if you can’t figure it out on your own then it’ll be much more fun to watch than to tell. Little My will pick up on it too if you keep talking like this when we get to the beach, and that will be a real treat.”

“I don’t understand…”

Snorkmaiden shook her head and sighed, “Don’t worry about it Moomintroll, you just might not want to talk too much about Snufkin if you don’t want Little My to be messing with you for a while.”

“I never want Little My messing with me.”

“Then I suggest you lose the dreamy sighs and questions about my meeting with him. As long as you can, at least.”

 

Moomintroll rushed to the water as soon as he heard the waves crashing, getting knee deep before turning back to Snorkmaiden with a grin. She shook her head and laughed, walking along the shore towards Little My and Sniff.

“There you are!” My called, running into the water to join Moomintroll. “Where have you been? You can’t just skip out on us without a word!” She crossed her arms and pouted at him, splashing water at him before stomping her way back out of the water to rejoin Sniff, the two of them making a sandcastle.

Snorkmaiden sat beside Little My, idly beginning a moat for the structure. “Well, he does have a reason, but it’s not a very good one.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Mhm, he told me all about it on the way here, he’s absolutely lost it.”

“Well then, spill it Moomintroll!” My demanded, Sniff looking up from his work of delicately placing shells and prompting the troll with a nod. 

“Oh, no, it’s not that big a deal-” Moomintroll lied, face flushing. He waded toward the castle and sat in the water, starting to dig and help with the moat.

Sniff sighed, “A week is a long time, Moomin!”

“Well, yes, but-”

“And you’re never gone without a reason!” Little My added, getting up to make her way to him once again. 

“Not to mention how red he’s become, and it’s not nearly hot enough outside for My to even want to roll up her sleeves.” Snorkmaiden commented with a grin, tail flicking behind her.

“Tell us Moomintroll!” Sniff demanded, My nodding furiously.

Moomintroll gave Snorkmaiden a look, but she didn’t seem to care at all, continuing to dig, her fur a pale orange. _Just as mischievous as My_ , Moomin thought before giving a sigh.

“Fine, fine! Alright! I’ll tell you.”

Sniff got up and made his way closer, and My just sat herself down and let the waves come to her boots.

“I- I met someone in the forest- well, not really, I didn’t meet them there, but I saved them there I guess is the best way to say it. They got caught in a bear trap, and now they’re staying with me- us, um, until they’re better,” Moomintroll explained, ears twitching as they turned pink and his tail flicking anxiously behind him.

Little My opened her mouth to say something, but before she could Snorkmaiden joined in. “It was Snufkin.”

Sniff gave a small nod and My a grin. “So, you’re watching over Snufkin?”

“Why does everyone remember Snufkin but me?!”

“You have as bad an attention span as Sniff, Moomin,” My said, standing up and returning to their castle. Sniff’s tail patted the sand in annoyance, but only gave a huff before standing up to join her.

“Anyway, like I was saying. Snufkin, mm… You’ve stayed away from us just to spend a week with Snufkin?”

“Yes, of course! He’s quite hurt.”

“He’s not very social,” My comments, patting the castle walls sturdy. “It’s not likely you’re spending time with him, as much as you are spending time wanting to spend time with him.”

“H-hey! How would you know?”

“Mymble travels a lot, not more than Snufkin though. Sometimes we’d cross paths, and he’d spend an afternoon with family. Not that he likes it, but at least he’s not pretending we don’t exist,” she shrugged. 

Moomin groaned, “You don’t happen to know Snufkin, do you Sniff?!” He asked with quite the sense of urgency.

“No.”

“Well that’s good, at least.” Moomintroll huffed and stood up, walking farther out into the ocean.

“Don’t run from your problems, Moomin!” My called, running after him. “Just because you’re too dense for your own good doesn’t mean Snufkin isn’t just as much of an idiot.”

“Stop! Don’t be mean to him!”

“He’s my little brother, I’ll say what I want about him.”

Moomintroll rolled his eyes and tugged on his ears, turning around to face her. “Ok, fine! What do you want?”

“Just to talk, and to make fun of your crush.”

“I- no! That’s not!” Moomintroll felt his face go red and tried to hide it behind his hands, but heard Snorkmaiden burst out into laughter and Sniff snicker while My just stared at him with a triumphant grin.

“Anyways, if you really want to get to know him, you might want to open your ears for once. He can be pretty quiet but a story that’s not from Pappa won’t kill you, and-”

“I- I already know that! I was talking with him yesterday… for the first time, just… talking…” Moomintroll admitted quietly. Little my nodded.

“You’re much smarter than you look, then! Why no sooner?”

“... He never wanted my company.”

“Ah. Sometimes you just gotta worm up to him.”

“No, I don’t! That’s what you do to everybody! That’s not any better advice than you ever give!”

“Then why do you want to hear it so badly?”

Moomintroll looked back out to the ocean and sat, letting the waves push up to the underneath of his snout. “I don’t know, I just think he’s cool, and everyone seems to know him but me.”

“Snorkmaiden and I don’t make up the general population, Moomin,” My chided, climbing up his back and sitting on his head.

“Shut up.”

“I mean, hey, if you don’t want to know more about him, then-”

“I do!” Moomin said, far too enthusiastically. He heard Sniff and Snorkmaiden giggle behind them again. “I- I mean, I… I do, yes, of course I want to know more about him, but he doesn’t talk much about himself…”

“See? I’m of vital assistance to you. I’m much better than Snorkmaiden, she only knows so much, you know,” she said quietly, or at least, quietly for Little My. “She’s far too focused on her own vanity to really know Snufkin.” 

“I can still hear you, My!” Snorkmaiden called.

“Mind your own business!” Little My replied, before settling in to be comfortable on top of Moomin. “Anyway, what is it that you want to know?”


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Moomintroll yearns.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tysm for 100 kudos!! hope u enjoy!

Moomintroll had spent hours just asking Little My questions, Snorkmaiden occasionally being able to provide insight as well. Sniff eventually found it boring and left, but made Moomintroll promise they would play again, like they normally did, sometime soon. 

The girls had decided to go on their way home about an hour before sunset, My insisting that she’d be sure her sister needed to drop her off again, and Snorkmaiden just asking that Moomintroll at least try not to forget about them again. His head was swimming, all these new things he’d learned about Snufkin, from the things he liked to the things he’d seen. Embarrassing stories, mannerisms, silly quirks. He knew far too much than he figured he ought to, but never wanted it to stop. The only thing he wanted more than to hear about Snufkin was to hear about Snufkin from the Mymrik himself. Not a Mumrik, he found out, as he had the Mymble for a mother. A hybrid. Fascinating…

He took a long and slow stroll home, letting himself go over everything he’d heard. He picked some wildflowers growing alongside tree trunks on his way, thinking that maybe Snufkin would enjoy them. Snorkmaiden had mentioned a shared interest in flowers, and My a habit to tuck flowers alongside his feather. Dinner might be cold by the time he made it to the door, but he wasn’t bothered in the slightest. Everything was wonderful.

When he finally arrived home he found Snufkin wasn’t on the veranda, which made him worry ever so slightly. The sun wasn’t down yet, maybe settling, but it was by no means dark yet. He had wanted to give him the flowers without having to explain their purpose to his parents, if only because he wouldn’t have to explain that he’d been trying to hear as much as he could about their guest when he wasn’t even around. They’d find out eventually though, especially if Little My was able to pester Mymble Jr to let her stay. Now that, that would be a disaster.

Moomintroll walked through the door and quickly spotted his friend at the dinner table, talking with Moominpappa. He seemed quite happy. Moomintroll watched for a moment before giving a soft sigh. It was wonderful to hear the joy in Snufkin’s voice first thing when he came home. He hoped it would become a regular thing.

Moomintroll snuck his way upstairs to leave the flowers at Snufkin’s bedside before joining his family at the table. Sitting beside Moominpappa he realized the room smelled more of smoke than usual, there was a different herb than the usual tobacco Pappa used. He didn’t have his pipe lit, Mamma forbade it inside, but it was curious. He decided to ask about it later, for all he had ears for now was to try to catch up on the current tale Snufkin was telling. Apparently the two had gotten into talking about their travels and were comparing the places that matched up. He thought it was so wonderful to hear a new perspective on the places he’d near memorized just by the way Pappa had put them. He thought it was so wonderful to hear Snufkin talk. 

He thought Snufkin was so wonderful.

 

Carrying Snufkin up to bed, Moomintroll recognized the new herb again. He took a deep breath and thought for a moment before readjusting his hold and heading up the stairs.

“Something wrong?” Snufkin asked, holding close.

“Oh, no. I just know that Pappa smokes, but I smelled something different this time, and the smoke smell was a lot stronger,” he explained.

“Ah. I do too. That’d be why.”

“Mm,” Moomintroll nodded. Neither of the girls had mentioned that. Maybe he didn’t do it around them? Whatever the reason, he knew something new. He was going to know Snufkin too, and the thought of that excited him more than any other he’d had today thus far. He opened the door and set Snufkin down on his bed, turning to pick up the flowers he’d left on the table. “Here, I thought you might like something from while I was out,” Moomintroll offered, ears twitching gently as his tail swayed. 

“Oh! Thank you,” Snufkin smiled, taking them and gently looking them over, feeling their petals and leaves, stems, everything. Eventually he took off his hat and put them in with his feather, just like My said he was one to do. “I appreciate it.”

Moomintroll felt his heart flutter, the butterflies grew stronger each and every day. He carefully laid Snufkin down and took his hat from his head, and an overwhelming urge to press his snout to his shoulder overcame him. He could feel his face and ears turning red, quickly turning around to put the boy’s hat elsewhere for the night.

“Are you okay, Moomintroll?” Snufkin asked.

“Oh, yes yes of course! I just got distracted and- thought of something that happened earlier. I can tell you about it tomorrow; you should get some sleep,” Moomintroll said. It was with far too much haste, his tail, had it been against something, would have been pounding almost as hard as his heart. 

“Okay… Well, you too, then. You seem a little out of it, a little tired,” Snufkin suggested, adjusting himself amongst his blankets.

“You’re right, I’m quite tired after being out all day… Um, sleep well, Snufkin,” he bid, heading straight to the door and wanting so dearly to turn around and see his soft face for one last time before he’d have to wait for morning.

“Goodnight.”

Moomin shut the door far faster and harder than he’d intended, but his heart continued to race as his face continued to burn. He sat himself down on the floor. Oh, goodness. What was he going to do? He hoped Snufkin didn’t think he’d upset him somehow, far from it, but it was far too unbearable for him to think he could manage this. _Maybe,_ he thought, _maybe it’s because I talked about him all day. Maybe it’s just because I heard so many things about him, that my mind is just overwhelmed with the thought of him._ Not that it hadn’t been already, but now he had something of substance to think about. He was positively miserable in, what Snorkmaiden would say, was one of the best possible ways.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> gay ass moomintroll


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Moominpappa isn't very helpful.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this is late lol i started drawing again n trying to video edit and it turns out! I can only have one creative outlet at a time! rip. anyways. its short too for the same reasons... I'll get back into the groove now that im home p quick though, i've just been restless. hard to write when u just wanna jump around! nway hope u enjoy

Maybe Pappa would have an idea what to do? He wasn’t in bed yet, and as much as he hated interruptions while he was working, hopefully this would be okay? Moomintroll sighed and carefully pushed the door to Moominpappa’s study open.

“Pappa?”

Moominpappa turned around to look at his son and gave him a soft smile. “Evening, Moomin. Do you need something?”

“I- yes. You know Snufkin?” _Stupid. Of course he did._ “I mean- it’s about Snufkin, I need to talk to you about Snufkin.” Moomintroll explained, tail flicking anxiously behind him. His face still felt warm, this was awful. Maybe he shouldn’t have come in here, Pappa’s work was very important.

Moominpappa nodded carefully, watching his son wring his hands together and glance around. “What is it about Snufkin that’s on your mind?” He asked, turning back to his desk. Moomintroll was too nervous to look at him.

“... Everything.”

“Everything?”

“I can’t- I can’t get him off my mind… That’s the problem.”

“Well why not?”

“I- I don’t know! I just- I think about him a lot, even before we properly got to talk. I thought about his music and it’s all I wanted to hear, and now that I’ve gotten to know him better my face always gets so hot and I feel like my heart might come out my chest! I- I was talking about him with Snorkmaiden and Little My because they knew him and now with so many more things about him to think about it’s all I can do!”

“Calm down son, you’re okay,” Moominpappa said, gently putting a hand on his son’s shoulder and looking at him. “It happens to the best of us, it’s even happened to me more than once.”

“Really? Well how come? What do you do about it?”

“Uh… It’s complicated,” Moominpappa says, looking away and rubbing the back of his neck. “It’s not something you do too much about, either. You just come to accept it. There certainly are things to do about it, but… ah… it’s much too soon to think about any of that.”

“What, think about what?” Moomintroll grabbed onto the arm of Moominpappa’s chair and leaned in.

“No no, don’t worry about it. You know what? This might be a conversation best had with your mother. She knows more about Snufkin than I do, and would be better suited for giving you advice on the subject anyway.”

“Ohh... Are you sure, Pappa?”

“Quite. Things will be fine, Moomin, I just think that you should wait to do anything about it until you know Snufkin better. If you think you really need to do something you might want to go to Mamma, but she’ll likely say the same things. I’m sorry I can’t be better help,” Moominpappa says, gently nuzzling his cheek. “You should get to bed for now though, things like this make you act all sorts of silly and I know that loss of sleep doesn’t help. Goodnight, Moomin. Sleep well,” he smiles at Moomintroll and gives him a pat on the head gently before turning back to his work.

Moomintroll sighs, “Goodnight, Pappa.” Moomintroll slowly walked out of the room and closed the door behind him. _That wasn’t helpful at all._ He groaned and made his way to his room, tail dragging behind him. What was he to do? He couldn’t stand this forever... 

Not that it felt bad, but it was unbearable. He laid down in his bed and stared out the window, tail moving off the edge of the bed and his heart still pounding. This feeling was nice; he was happy, especially when Snufkin was too, but it was so very overwhelming. Nothing else seemed to be able to compare or bring him down. It attacked at what felt like random, but around Snufkin the most, and he didn’t want to lose his cool around his new friend. He sighed and curled up in his blankets, trying to focus on the stars rather than his own thoughts. Whatever this was, he hoped it wouldn’t be ‘too soon’ to do anything about it for long.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> moominpappa is a bicon


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Moominmamma knows.

Moomintroll woke up earlier than usual, rolling onto his back and rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. The sun was hardly even up, but there was no use sleeping again. He rose and stretched himself out, heading down to the kitchen. He heard Mamma whistling to herself as she pulled things out to get ready for breakfast, glad that he wasn’t the only one awake. 

“Mamma?”

“Oh, good morning, Moomin. Did something wake you?” She asks sweetly, readying bowls to begin the pancake batter. 

“No, I just woke up early… Is Snufkin awake?”

“Ah, yes. He’s having some coffee, said he wanted to be alone this morning. I’m sure he might make an exception for you, though,” she said with a smile, giving her son a look and gesturing with her snout to go back upstairs.

“Should I bring him anything?”

“No, just yourself will do. Might as well keep each other company. By the way, Moomintroll, when you need to talk to me don’t hesitate, I’ll gladly help you. I heard from Pappa that he wasn’t much help to you last night.”

Moomintroll looked away with a nervous laugh, “Oh, um… Thank you, Mamma. Do you know what-”

“I’d talk to Snufkin first if I were you, dear. Go see how he’s doing.”

Moomintroll gave a nod and rushed back up the stairs, and Moominmamma chuckled softly to herself. 

 

In Snufkin’s room he sat on his bed, holding one of the flowers gently between his fingers and looking over it, sitting up on his bed with his hat beside him. When the door creaked open he looked up and set the flower down. “Oh, good morning Moomintroll.”

“Good morning, Snufkin. Mamma said I should check up on you…”

He gave a small nod and picked up his coffee mug again, it was lukewarm now but mostly empty, so it was alright. “I’m fine, just didn’t really want to talk with her this morning.”

“... Would you like to move to your chair?

“No, thank you. I wouldn’t be opposed to having breakfast with everyone if that’s okay, though.”

“Oh, certainly! It’s not ready yet n Pappa isn’t even up, but of course you can, Snufkin!” Moomintroll smiles and moves to stand beside him. “Would you like to come down now, or…?”

“Sure. Could you sit with me outside until the meal is ready?”

“I don’t see why not.” Moomintroll carefully scoops Snufkin up into his arms and smiles. “Is there anything you want to talk about?”

“Not particularly, but you wanted to hear about how Snorkmaiden and I met, didn’t you?”

 

Moomintroll almost didn’t hear Mamma call the boys inside for breakfast, completely focused on his friend’s voice. Snufkin began moving so Moomin could lift him again, and once inside Mamma smiled at the two boys before turning to take Pappa’s newspaper during breakfast. The family ate and talked happily, Moomintroll still only listening. His parents took notice but didn’t say anything about it, they knew why. Snufkin didn’t know that Moomintroll ever acted any differently, but stayed quiet himself unless there was reason to speak. A lovely chatter, Moomintroll loved his family so much. And Snufkin.

Well, no, maybe? He couldn’t say for sure, but the girls definitely thought so. But he did _enjoy_ Snufkin’s company, and he could say that for certain. And he could hardly get him out of his mind, but surely it was just because he was so closed off. Moomintroll wasn’t used to people being closed off, he was used to talkative people like himself, like Sniff and Snorkmaiden and My. He shook it from his mind, he’d worry about the teasing pair being right later. For now, Snufkin was talking, and it was making his heart soar.

 

In the evening Mamma came to sit on the steps of the veranda with the boys, looking over to the forest.

“You know, you’ll have to stay here for quite a while, right Snufkin?” She says, looking over to the boy.

“Yes, I know. We’ll be able to make a cast soon, right? Now that the less concerning wounds are out of the way?”

“Mhm. It’ll be until the end of the season until you can properly leave and be on your own. I feel terrible about it, but your health is quite important. There’s not a real way to speed this up, unfortunately,” she said with a frown. “Maybe once you have a proper cast Moomin can take you out places though,” she mentioned with a glance to her son, giving him a small smile.

“Oh, yes! There are plenty of meadows and of course the beach, the forest is nice when it’s too hot to be out in the sun.”

Snufkin nodded carefully. “So long as you don’t think it’ll make my leg take longer.”

“No, being out and about shouldn’t, it’s just redressing it that makes it hard. Don’t want to risk things getting into it while you’re out, but if it doesn’t need to be redressed anymore and will be sealed off then it’ll be fine,” Mamma explained.

“Of course. I’d really like to get out of the house, as nice of a house as it is.”

“I understand, dear. This isn’t what you were meant to do.”

“No, certainly not.”

With that, Mamma rose and gently patted her son’s head before going back inside.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this took a while i... realized im at a rut in the story where things are slow and thus i dont want to write them until they pick up again lol. but we cant get back to it! until this is done! so! anyways. hope u enjoy, hopefully i can get things back somewhere more exciting p quick :P


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Spending the morning at the beach.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> its midnight. i got inspiration (finally) a few hours ago. i hate staying up this late. please enjoy

It’d been about another week. Moominmamma had finally decided that the cuts from the trap were well enough that there was no need for constant redressings and set Snufkin in a cast. While his mobility was still limited, he could go out now, and go out he intended to do. Moomintroll was so excited when he got the news that he could take Snufkin out that his tail near knocked something over. Luckily for both the boys Moominmamma caught it, and quickly her son regained control over himself.

“Now, you do have to be careful still, but I think you should be okay if you keep it covered up,” Moominmamma instructed, covering the wanderer’s leg in a plastic wrap to keep it safe from the dirt and sand she was certain the two would get into. “I have a picnic basket set up for you all in the kitchen, with extra food just for Sniff and My. Now then,” Moominmamma stood and gave Moomintroll a gentle nuzzle on the top of his head, “do have fun, dears. Sniff, Snorkmaiden, and My are welcome to come to dinner, as is Snork if he wishes to come out.”

Moomintroll gave a nod, picking up the basket off the table and tying his tail around the handle. “Got it, Mamma! We’ll make sure nothing bad happens.” 

“I’m sure of it. Have a good day,” She bid, watching Moomintroll lift Snufkin in his arms, and his tail only stopped from wagging by the weight of their lunch.

 

Snufkin was thrilled to be going out. He held onto Moomintroll and his hat as he was carried through the forest, soft while fur brushing against his bare face. It was nice, he wasn’t quite free yet, but at least he didn’t feel so captive. He leaned into Moomin as they went along; it was much longer than just going down to the veranda. The beach was quite a ways, and the silence was beginning to get odd. Not to mention just how much he’d sank into the other’s hold, he hadn’t been in his arms for this long before. It was nice, Moomintroll was amazingly soft and warm; he smelled earthy, like dirt and grass and vaguely of flowers, sweet, like the jam and pancakes and berries his family seemed to enjoy so much, and finally salty, like the sea he so oft visited when Snufkin said he’d rather a few hours alone.

A content sigh escaped him and he reached for his harmonica to begin a tune, and Moomin slowed his pace to listen. Snufkin closed his eyes and let the song occupy him while he memorized just what it was like to be held for so long. Usually he wasn’t one for so much physical contact, but he hadn’t much of a choice lately. Not that it mattered, as he found this rather enjoyable.

 

The sound of crashing waves drew closer and Snufkin stopped playing to listen, carefully opening his eyes against the sunlight streaming through the thinning treeline.

“Are we close?”

“Yeah! Just a little bit more, gotta find where everyone is. Do you want to be left in the shade, maybe?”

“No, I want to be in the sun. I’ve been out of it for far too long. My freckles might be gone,” he said with a small smile.

Moomintroll shook his head and laughed, “No, definitely not. There’s just as many there as the first time I saw them!”

“Well it can’t hurt to get more can it?”

“Certainly not. Won’t get many with that coat though,”

“Eh, I’d rather keep it on. Maybe if it gets too hot I’ll reconsider.”

“Ooookaaay! Whatever you say, Snufkin,” Moomintroll giggled as he walked through the sand, looking about for his friends.

“Moooooomin!” A voice called from a ways ahead on the beach, bright red standing out against the pale beach.

“Oh- You know Little My too? Goodness, it’s a wonder we’d never been introduced,” Snufkin said, smiling up at his companion. The sunlight made his white fur hard to look at, but he continued to marvel at it nonetheless.

“Yeah, she told me a bit about you last week…”

“Figures. Siblings are quite the riot. That’s why I’m not usually with them.”

Snorkmaiden came racing over, “You could bring Snufkin! That’s fantastic! Isn’t it nice to be out again, Snuf?” She asks, walking alongside the pair now.

“Yes, quite.”

“Mm, were you planning to come visit us anytime?” Little My asked as they got closer, sitting in the sand beside Sniff, who was looking for seashells.

“Which one of us?” Snufkin asked.

“Oh, either of you. But Moomintroll at least has been visiting occasionally the past week, but you showed up in Moominvalley two weeks ago and haven’t bothered to say hi!”

Moomintroll tried to jump in to Snufkin’s defense, “My, he hasn’t been able to-”

“I know that, dummy!”

“Then what are you going on about?”

Little My just shook her head and rolled her eyes, “You wouldn’t understand.”

Snufkin only chuckled softly, looking up to Moomintroll. “Would you mind setting me down in the sand? Against that rock, so I can sit up?”

 

Soon enough everyone was digging for shells while Snufkin played music to accompany the sounds of the sea, everyone with their own separate pile of shells they thought were nice, trading each other occasionally, or in My’s case, outright stealing when not watched closely enough. Not that she cared for the prettiest shells, she later said, it was just that Sniff’s boasting was annoying, and she wanted to prove she could do better than them all.

“Alright, alright, fine! You keep looking for shells, I’m going to go looking for pearls,” Moomintroll announced, glancing over to Snufkin who’d stopped playing when conversations began again. “Are you going to be okay?”

“Don’t fret, Moomintroll. I’ve been keeping the basket safe for a while now, and I have the girls here to watch over me and make sure nothing happens. Go diving, I’m excited to see what kind of pearls you can find.”

Moomintroll gave a serious nod before rushing off into the ocean with a laugh, and Snufkin watched his fluffy round figure until it disappeared under the waves. He gave a content sigh before bringing his harmonica to his lips again, but Snorkmaiden came close and sat beside him.

“Hey Snufkin?”

“Yes?”

“What do you think of Moomintroll?” She asked, beginning to pick grains of sand out from beneath her claws.

“Well, I think he’s quite kind and friendly.”

“Anything else?”

“He’s nice to talk to and very welcoming as a person. Easy to get to know, easy to talk to. He’s excitable, could learn to appreciate silence a bit better, but he’s quite wonderful overall. Why?”

Snorkmaiden looked over to Little My, who only grinned without even looking up from the hole she was digging. She wasn’t even looking for shells anymore. “Oh, nothing.” Her green fur tinted slightly more yellow as she watched Moomintroll reemerge from the sea with a few oysters in his paws, yelling excitedly about how big some of the ones he’d seen were. ”Nothing at all.”

 

Moomintroll had gone on and on about his pearls and oysters, giving everyone one of their own once he was able to crack them open (it was quite tough, and My almost even offered to help). Sniff had insisted he get to keep the biggest one since he cared most of all about it, but Moomintroll was determined to give it to Snufkin, for he wasn’t even able to explore much of anything himself, it was only right that he be allowed the best things that were found. He’d offered Snufkin some of his shells too, but those were easier to refuse, especially with My’s thievery. The pearl though…

Snufkin carefully took it in his hand and smiled, rolling it gently between his fingers. “Thank you, Moomintroll.”

It wasn’t the fact that it was a pearl that made it more appealing; it’s worth meant nothing to him. It was just the effort that Moomintroll had gone through to get it; diving down deep and prying open the oysters, getting annoyed when one was empty and he had to hunt for another. It was sweet. He’d set aside the nicest one in a batch aside and upon finding one he deemed better immediately replace it. He’d been saving the best one he found for Snufkin…

Moomintroll nodded, “Well of course!” He looked up into the sky and Snufkin admired the way the light reflected off his damp fur. It was bright before, but now it was reflective. He chuckled softly, tucking away the pearl and his harmonica.

“Is it time for lunch yet?” Sniff asked with a whine, inspecting his pearl close.

“I think so. If it’s not, well, Snufkin can’t hold me off forever, now can he?” Little My said with a small grin, looking up to her brother.

“No- no, don’t start that. I think it is time to eat, yes,” Moomintroll said, sitting beside Snufkin and beginning to rummage through the basket for a blanket and plates. Once Snorkmaiden had laid the blanket out and set it in place with some rocks, Moomintroll carried him over.

Snufkin wondered what he did to find himself in the care of such a wonderful Moomintroll.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im not. good at proofreading my own writing ESPECIALLY after ive just written it but i thought this was so sweet... i wanted to post it immediately. its soft. i love these softies so so so so much. so much. ty all for being so patient with me, i just kind of write when i get the inspiration to. anyways lmk what you thought and stuff as always ! and with that; *goes the fuck to sleep


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Snufkin doesn't know.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this has been sitting in the document for two weeks. i completely forgot i had it finished already. jfc

“It’s too hot,” Sniff said, letting the waves come up over his feet.

“Hmm… Maybe we could go to the cave then?” Snorkmaiden suggested, turning away from her sandcastle.

“It’s MY cave, not THE cave!”

“Right, well, maybe we can go to your cave then, what do you think? We’d be out of the sun but still be right here on the beach.”

“...Maybe…”

“Oh, come on, Sniff!” Moomintroll whined, propping his head up in his hands, laying in the sand beside Snufkin. “It’s either that or we swim, and you’re not very good at that. I don’t want to have to get any floats from-”

“I don’t need floats!”

“Learn how to swim, then!” My chimed in, poking her head out from their lunch basket with a leftover apple half eaten in her hand. “Ugh, you’re such a baby.”

“I am not!”

“Then let’s go! What, are you scared of your own cave?”

“Am not!”

“Both of you, shut up,” Snorkmaiden interrupted. “How about this. Sniff, you and Moomintroll can go to the cave. You can decide if it’s cooler in there than it is out here. Then you can come back and we’ll make our decision, okay?”

“Why me?” Moomintroll asked, though most certainly not protesting, beginning to stand and careful not to brush any sand off onto Snufkin.

“Because! Sniff’s too silly to make a proper decision alone, and I want to catch up with Snufkin. Little My would harass Sniff far too much for anything to get done, and Sniff has to go because he’s the one who decided to complain about the heat in the first place.”

“Sound like your brother... “ My commented, taking another bite into her apple. She ducked back into the basket when a rock was thrown at her, bouncing off the top of the lid that was closed just in time.

“...Fine!” Sniff huffed and began walking in the direction of his cave, Moomintroll quickly following.

“Be back in a bit!”

Snufkin gave a small nod and readjusted himself in the sand, hat over his face and coat folded up in the basket with My. His harmonica lay on his stomach to keep it from being full of sand, and the pearl was moved to the pocket of his trousers.

“What is it you wanted to catch up on, Snorkmaiden?” He asked casually, stretching out his arms and resting his hands behind his head.

“Well…” She watched the other boys walk off into the distance. She spoke softly, so they wouldn’t hear. “I was just wondering- what is it that you like about Moomintroll?”

Snufkin stayed quiet for a moment, moving to push himself up from the sand. “Excuse me?”

“Yeah, what do you like about him? I mean, you said earlier he was good to talk to, but other than that you just kind of described him. You’re clearly fond of him, if you’re wanting to deny it.”

Snufkin looked at the two in the distance, quite a ways now. Definitely out of earshot. He adjusted his hat on his head and turned to the basket beside him, where My was poking out again. “She’s right. Just spill it, would ya?”

“Hey!”

“I mean, I am right. You turn a little pink in his arms, and it’s not from the heat, no sir. So, if you could just... Spill it, then this will be a lot easier on you,” Snorkmaiden said, smoothing out the towers of her castle.

Snufkin just stared at her for a moment before giving a sigh, “Is it that obvious?”

Snorkmaiden nodded, “Mhm! Well, at least to My and I. Moomintroll is oblivious and Sniff probably doesn’t know what to look for.”

He groaned and let himself slip back down and laid in the sand again, putting his hat over his blushing face. “If you’re so smart, why don’t you tell me what I like about him? I can’t figure it out…”

“We don’t know you well enough to answer that for you,” My shrugged. “First time you’ve come to the valley. We do know you well enough to know that something’s off though, and we’re curious because Moomintroll-”

“My!” Snorkmaiden gave her a look, and quickly the smaller girl returned to her apple.

“What?” Snufkin asked, peeking out from beneath his hat. “What about Moomintroll?”

“It’s not important, not yet anyways. Well, if you don’t know then certainly there’s no point in asking,” Snorkmaiden sighed, placing some of the lesser-liked shells on the edges of her work.

“Right… Okay. Um- if, I do figure it out, I’ll… Let you know, I guess…”

“You’d better,” My said, finally crawling out of the basket. “This is boring, nothing’s come of it!”

“You could always check how the others are doing at the cave,” Snorkmaiden shrugged.

“Way ahead of you!” My called, racing off to catch up with Moomin and Sniff. Snorkmaiden shook her head and laughed softly.

“So… How’s Snork?” Snufkin asked.

“He’s fine, more closed off than you’d remember though. Since we’ve settled he tends to get into his own head more, spend most of his time inventing in his room,” she sighs. “Although, I bet he wouldn’t fuss too much if you asked him to fish with you when you feel better,” she said with a small smile.

“I doubt we’d get the chance.”

“Oh?”

“No… After all of this, I think I would much rather leave the valley as soon as I can. I’m stuck, and I don’t quite like it.”

“Ah… Well, maybe when you’re walking and can see it for yourself you might change your mind. Don’t tell Moomintroll just yet, I think he’d worry himself sick about being overbearing or upsetting you.”

“Right, right… Okay. I’ll keep that in mind.”

An uncomfortably tense silence fell over them. Snufkin sighed and readjusted his hat over his face. Snorkmaiden looked him over for a moment.

“... Say, did you tell Moomin you dug yourself out of jail?”


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They worry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> god im sorry this is behind again and its also kinda short im. doing my best out here. on the bright side, i have an idea of whats happening again and starting to form a schedule, so i should become more timely. hope u enjoy! any and all comments are appreciated.

“Say, Moomintroll?”

“Yes Snufkin?” Moomin asked, turning to his companion. The soft light of the sunset shone from behind him, the pink hues reflecting wonderfully in his brown eyes. Moomin had finally gotten used to the fuzzy feeling Snufkin gave him, able to work around it better as the weeks had gone by. That didn’t make Snufkin seem any less stunning though, and every time Moomin thought too hard about him he thought his heart might explode.

“How long until it comes off, do you think?” He asks, gesturing to his cast before looking back to the clouds, made to look pink and extra soft, just like Moomin at this time of day.

“Oh, only another few days, I imagine. Mamma seems really happy with your progress! And you said today that walking doesn’t hurt too bad anymore, right?”

Snufkin nodded, “Right. So, um… Moomin,” he hesitates, looking to his companion. Moomin’s tail wags excitedly, and his blue eyes are bright and full of joy. He’s always like this, always so happy with Snufkin around. The Mymrik can’t help but wonder why, sometimes…

“Yes?”

“Do you think we could go for a tour of the valley once my cast is off?”

“Oh, of course! We could do it now if you really wanted, but I guess that would be a little inconvenient, huh?”

“Maybe a little, yeah,” Snufkin chuckles. “And then, after that… I think I might be on my way.”

Moomin felt his stomach drop. “Huh?”

“I think that I’m going to leave once Mamma says I’m clear to be on my own again.”

“Really?... A-are you sure? What if something else happens or-”

“I can handle things on my own, I have before. I really do appreciate all your help though.”

“Of course of course but- are you certain? Will you come back? I’d hate to never see you again.”

“Don’t be silly, Moomin, of course I’ll be back,” Snufkin said with a smile, reaching to take the other’s fluffy paw. He wasn’t too sure of it himself, but the sudden panic he’d put Moomin into... That probably could have waited, or been brought up smoother. He’d enjoyed his time in the valley yes, but it’d been quite miserable too, what with the being stuck indoors and restrictions and the constant people. It wasn’t the Moomins’ fault that this had happened, but he’d certainly grown tired of it very quickly.

“Okay… Well, if you’re sure, then.” Moomin nodded and squeezed his hand. “If I can do anything to make you more comfortable, or help you get ready to go or- or anything at all…!”

“I’ll let you know, trust me. For now, though, I want your help figuring out what… That cloud looks like,” Snufkin pointed to a particular cloud and laid back in the grass, Moomin quickly following suit and trying to ignore his worries by listing shapes and animals. Snufkin, too, tried to hide his anxieties by helping the list of possibilities grow.


End file.
